A field near the corner of St. Jean Baptiste and the Metropolitan Highway in Riviere des Prairies has been unveiled as one of four island sites that will host composting plants.

The facility, which will be housed in an industrial park, is expected to be ready in 2019. It will process 29,000 tonnes of organic waste per year but will not produce biomethane, as many other such facilities do.

“All Montrealers will benefit from this. The reality is we need a greener city,” said Mayor Denis Coderre, who said it was a commitment his administration needed to keep.

The field sits 1.5 km away from residentially-zoned areas so there should be no opposition to the project, as there was at a previous site earmarked for composting in St. Michel.

The composting site is part of a $237 million undertaking to make Montreal more green and sustainable. About $130 million of that total will be paid by the federal and provincial governments.

The other three composting facilities will be located in LaSalle, St-Laurent and Montreal East.

Coderre said that the project will offer environmental as well as economic benefits, in comments he made at a press conference Wednesday morning.

“We are sending a message today when we talk about sustainable development. It’s not just good for the planet; it’s good for the island and city and good for economic development. If we want to have a green industry I think we have a great laboratory there," he said.

Ecole Polytechnique chemical engineering professor Robert Legros is working with the city to improve its sustainable development.

He says organic matter in landfills produce high amounts of greenhouse gases.

“What you want to do is treat it in treatment centres where the conditions are controlled, and then you can produce biogas,” he said.

The sites in LaSalle and Montreal East will produce biomethane, whereas the RDP and St-Laurent sites will process organic waste.

The city says the compost program will reduce the amount of waste going to landfills by 36 per cent.

“Of course by 2019, we expect to have all the services for all the people living in Montreal,” said executive committee member in charge of environmental issues Real Menard.

Before the city can break ground on its new compost site, it will need to go through public consultations. Those are expected to begin this fall.